Primaries Move Forward Anyway

Sources say Jessica Ramos, who currently works for Mayor Bill de Blasio, will run a primary challenge in her Queens Senate District next year against IDC member Jose Peralta. Ramos gave notice to City Hall two weeks ago, her last day is Friday. Reached by phone Ramos would only say,

I am leaving City Hall in order to pursue opportunities in public service.

Ramos currently has $5,061 in her campaign account, “Friends of Jessica Ramos,” which is left over from when she served as District Leader in her Jackson Heights neighborhood from 2010 – 2014. in 2015 she went to work as a communications adviser for the Mayor. De Blasio created a new position for Ramos inside the administration which was Director of Latino Media, but the job title also encompassed all ethnic and community media. Ramos also spearheaded the Mayor’s popular town halls ( which got held at a much livelier pace as de Blasio closed in on re-election this year ), and City Hall in Your Borough which brings the administration to hold court in one of the five boroughs for a full week.

Peralta left the mainline Democrats earlier this year to join the Independent Democrats or IDC. More so than some of the other recent defectors Peralta has faced an intense level of backlash for his decision. Insiders say that’s likely due in part to his once closeness with the Queens Democratic County brain trust of Senator Michael Gianaris, Consultant Evan Stavisky and Chair Joe Crowley who were rather displeased with Peralta’s surprise decision.

Others who know the district say the opposition to Peralta’s decision has been more grass roots with Democrats in the district feeling “betrayed.” The 8-member IDC currently holds a power sharing arrangement with Republicans for control of the State Senate. While the average New Yorker probably had little notice or care about what that even meant two years ago, with Donald Trump getting elected President people have taken a new stance in their local communities to resist all things Republican and Trump.

Ramos is now in a more precarious position however, since an ultimatum was laid down Monday night by the state Democratic Party with the support of Governor Cuomo. Under the imposed deal the IDC and mainline Dems would reunite ( 5 months from now ) in exchange for no Democratic primaries against members of the IDC. That means someone like Ramos, who took a real risk here, could end up with no institutional support from the party should this deal go through. One Democratic insider says it’s still too early to know what will happen, and points out that petitioning to get on the ballot is still 6 months away.

Even with all the uncertainty many potential challengers to IDC members have decided not to sit on the sidelines. A Primary is expected against Senator David Valesky, former City Council Member Robert Jackson is challenging Senator Marisol Alcanatara in a rematch of 2016 minus Micah Lasher, and Attorney Zellnor Myrie is forging ahead with his challenge of Senator Jesse Hamilton. Reached for comment, Myrie said of Hamilton,

The question from day one has been is Hamilton a good Senator. The answer is no because he broke an agreement. We are pressing ahead with my campaign.